WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

'Not an if project; it is a yes project,' KU leaders say of football stadium upgrade, events venue near 11th and Mississippi streets

Updated at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday University of Kansas leaders said Wednesday they are fully committed to a project that would significantly upgrade KU’s football stadium and add a new venue near the stadium to host entertainment events and conferences. “This project is not an ‘if’ project; it is a ‘yes’ project,” Sean Lester, deputy director of KU Athletics, told a crowd of about 75 design ...

From Minecraft to princesses, Lawrence moms create business that hosts themed slumber parties for kids

If Instagram inspired the people in my household to start a business, I shudder to think what it would be. (The bow tie-wearing Boston Terrier of the household probably would be the CEO, given that he’s in all the photos.) But a pair of Lawrence moms think they’ve found an Instagram idea that will be a big hit locally. It involves tents in your living room. More specifically, it involves a slumber party ...

KU seeking design firm to develop concept plans for football stadium, events center project near 11th and Mississippi streets

The University of Kansas is getting more serious about upgrades to its football stadium — and this time the plans may involve far more than football. KU officials recently have begun advertising for design firms that are interested in creating “concept and schematic design” services for a new gateway project at 11th and Mississippi streets, which is at the base of Mt. Oread and is the current location of ...

Local leaders praise community-building skills of former Chamber leader Gary Toebben, who died at 74

Los Angeles is a long way away from eastern Nebraska, and miles may be one of the less meaningful measurements of that distance. That thought crossed the mind of Lawrence resident Larry McElwain when he was in L.A. in 2018 for the retirement reception of Gary Toebben, a small-town eastern Nebraska native who years earlier had served as the president of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. Toebben now was ...

Since 2002 Douglas County's property tax rate has increased 70%; state's other largest counties up 8%

Over the last two decades, Douglas County has experienced the largest increase in property tax rates of any urban county in Kansas, a review of statewide data has found. And the comparison is not close. Douglas County has seen its property tax rate increase 70% since 2002. The average increase for Kansas’ urban counties — excluding Douglas County — has been 8%. While it may be a dubious distinction, ...

Pair of commissioners say county should have policy on how much money to keep in savings accounts, emergency funds

A majority of Douglas County commissioners this past week said the county should create a policy to guide it as it accumulates tens of millions of dollars in its savings and rainy day funds. Commissioners Shannon Portillo and Patrick Kelly both said they thought the county ought to formally craft a policy that would set guidelines for how much money the county can accumulate in such emergency accounts, how it ...